These 3 Cardinals should be 2025 Silver Slugger finalists

Alec Burleson

Last but certainly not least, Alec Burleson has firmly cemented himself into the Cardinals every day lineup, and he could find himself in the Silver Slugger finalist category this year.

Among qualified National League outfielders this year, Burleson ranked first in AVG (.290), sixth in wRC+ (124) and wOBA (.353), and ninth in OBP (.343) and SLG (.459). While Burleson has a strong case to be a top six outfielder in the National League offensively this year, they typically only name five finalists, making his path toward that fairly difficult.

I also think it's fair to point out Burleson's lagging production in the outfield, as his wRC+ dropped to just 111 in games when he played out there. However, it is for sure worth noting that Burleson posted a 153 wRC+ when he was playing first base this year, by far the best of any National League first baseman. He did only play 42 games there though, so I'm not sure he'll be able to qualify for that. If he did, his total season numbers rank closer to sixth again than the top three.

The Cardinals are going to shop Willson Contreras this offseason, and it may be in their best interest to see how Burleson produces at first base in a full season at that position. He did improve defensively in the outfield this year which is a major plus, but getting a .333/.380/.527 slash line out of first base would be a major revelation for the club long-term.

Going forward, the Cardinals need another "dude" or two in their lineup, but Herrera, Donovan, and Burleson are pretty great building blocks. Herrera and possibly Burleson can be middle of the order bats on a contending team, while Donovan can provide a ton of value as a lead off man or batting in the fifth or sixth spot for a really good offense. The Cardinals need to surround them with more talent, and Chaim Bloom and his team are hard at work looking to do so.